-
Views
-
Cite
Cite
John Ashton, The Gospel of John: More Light from Philo, Paul and Archaeology, the Scriptures, Tradition, Exposition, Settings, Meaning. By P eder B orgen . , The Journal of Theological Studies, Volume 66, Issue 2, October 2015, Pages 776–778, https://doi.org/10.1093/jts/flv056
Close - Share Icon Share
Extract
I n this new collection the veteran Norwegian scholar Peder Borgen has assembled a number of articles previously published over a period of more than half a century, the earliest in 1959 and the latest in 2010. These are preceded by a short introduction and a concluding chapter (‘Where My Journey of Research Has Led Me’), in which he modifies some of his earlier views.
The book is divided into five parts, the first of which is a discussion of the methodological principles Borgen had discovered long ago whilst working on his well-known study of the manna theme in John 6. This discussion is prefaced by a survey of the main areas of his research on John, accompanied by a response by M. Labahn. The second part focuses on Judaism (especially Philo, always one of Borgen’s great interests) and early Christianity (Paul, chiefly 1 Corinthians) insofar as they can be seen to provide an explanatory context for John’s Gospel. The third part questions the nature of John’s relation with the other gospels: ‘From John and the Synoptics to John within Early Gospel Traditions’. The fourth part opens with Borgen’s seminal article ‘God’s Agent in the Fourth Gospel’, which gives this part both its theme and its title. One chapter in this part compares John’s treatment of the Sabbath controversy in 5:3–18 with certain passages in Philo, arguing that the former is to be seen as a specifically Christian version of a controversy that already existed in the Jewish community in Alexandria.
